Crime was once California's biggest political problem. Now it's making a comeback – Marin Independent Journal

There was a time more than four decades ago when crime was the most important political issue in California.

The state experienced a sharp rise in crime, but the Democratic-controlled legislature ignored calls to do something about it. Republicans sensed an opportunity and scored a series of electoral victories over more than a decade, despite accusing Democrats of being too soft on crime.

Republican challengers defeated several Democratic lawmakers. George Deukmejian, the state's tough-on-crime Republican attorney general, was elected governor in 1982 and was succeeded by Republican Pete Wilson in 1990.

In 1986, Republicans also launched a successful campaign to remove three liberal members of the state Supreme Court, including Chief Justice Rose Bird.

Eventually, Democratic lawmakers jumped on the bandwagon and passed a flood of bills in the 1980s and 1990s – most notably a three-strikes law in 1994.

New laws and a tougher stance from prosecutors and judges put tens of thousands of criminals behind bars. Although the state built dozens of new prisons, an eightfold increase in inmate populations led to massive overcrowding, which eventually led to a downsizing of the federal courts.

At the beginning of the century, Democrats regained control of the Capitol. A decade ago, with voter support, they began to amend or even repeal the harsh criminal laws of the crime-fighting heyday, citing mass incarceration for relatively minor crimes as the justification. Inmate populations are now half what they once were, and prisons are being closed.

However, the state is plagued by a spate of property crimes such as shoplifting, car break-ins and burglaries, as well as certain violent crimes. Not surprisingly, crime is once again a potent political issue.

Angered that lawmakers appeared to ignore their requests, retailers, law enforcement groups and local government officials passed a ballot proposal, Proposition 36, that would increase penalties for some crimes. At the same time, Proposition 47, a 2014 ballot proposal that reduced certain penalties, was partially repealed.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders tried to formulate a softer countermeasure for the ballot but were unable to get it passed, largely because Democrats weren't united. But they have put together a package of 10 bills that doesn't go as far as Prop. 36 in tackling crime.

When Newsom signed the bills last Friday at a Home Depot in San Jose, he called them “the most significant anti-property crime bill in California's modern history,” adding, “It goes to the heart of the problem and does so in a thoughtful and prudent way.”